Microcontrollers (MCU) comprise a microprocessor, memory and a plurality of peripherals, wherein some peripherals may be configured to operate independently from the MCU. A typical MCU generally comprise a programmable timebase in form of a timer as one of such peripherals. Such a timer can be programmed to provide for a trigger signal for system functions. A typical MCU timebase peripheral is designed to operate as a continuously running timer. This feature is generally implemented so that the timebase peripheral can provide complex triggering for other system functions. Often, that functionality is placed within the destination function. A conventional 16-bit timebase, for example, may have a trigger mode with a one-shot capability as shown in FIG. 2. The trigger mode uses an external signal to tell the timebase when to start. The timebase is held in reset until triggered. FIG. 1 shows a first mode of a conventional timebase, in which a trigger signal starts the timer. The timer then runs indefinitely and generates event signals until a user clears a bit CCPxSTAT.TRIG which causes the timer to stop. FIG. 2 shows a one-shot mode which operates differently. In this mode, the timebase will stop after the generation of the event.